Kagayake! Atsuki Gia Tamashī!
Kagayake! Atsuki Gia Tamashī! (輝け！熱きギア魂！) is the 68th and final episode of Crush Gear Turbo. It was originally aired in Japan on January 26, 2003. Synopsis The final battle between Kouya and Takeshi is about to conclude which will determine who will be the Crush Gear World Champion. Will Kouya finally be able to defeat his long time rival???? Plot The episode left off when Kouya attempts to launch Shining Sword Breaker despite Garuda Phoenix losing so much power earlier in the battle. Takeshi re-attempts to intercept the attack causing Garuda Phoenix to switch to spin attack. Although Garuda Phoenix successfully hits Gaiki, it heads back into the ring, making a chance for Takeshi to launch King of the Dragon Fighters. Takeshi believing to have won, Kouya still believes he won't win that easily. Garuda Phoenix then breaks free from it's barrier. Gaiki now makes its next move which causes it split into three. Two out of Three Gaiki's pound Garuda Phoenix. As Takeshi prepares to attack Garuda Phoenix with the Third Gaiki, he backed down when he suddenly visions his younger self running happily towards the Tobita Clubhouse and meets Yuhya at the ring, causing him to lose his concentration and tries to ignore the vision. Kouya takes the opportunity to throw Gaiki out of the ring winning the battle with Garuda Phoenix's battery dead after knocking Gaiki out thus handing Gaiki it's first defeat. During the intermission, the Tobita Club members notice that something had distracted Takeshi during the last round. The Tobita Club believed Takeshi would've beaten Kouya if he didn't get emotionally distracted when he failed the use the final shot against Kouya. Nonetheless, Kaoru despises the fact to the point of threatening to clobber Jirou, Kyousuke and Kuroudo for what they have said. Instead, she believes that Kouya won because he is better than Takeshi. Kouya tells them he still feels the hatred towards him despite being no longer having it a long time ago. Kyousuke states that Takeshi is the only one who has the hatred at the moment and adds how he used to become the Tobita Club’s top player, which angers Kaoru. Kouya thinks that Takeshi hates him because he feels that the latter gets his revenge over Yuhya. However, Lilika tells Kouya that it is not true - rather, there is no one who is upset at Yuhya’s death other than Takeshi. According to Lilika, all the members of the Tobita Club cannot easily accept the fact that Yuhya had gone. Only Takeshi did not show his sadness; he continued teaching Gear Fighting to the other children. This caused them to think that he is a cold-hearted boy, but little did they know that he bottled up all his feelings inside. In addition, he admires Yuhya and loves the Tobita Club than anyone else. She recommends Kouya to connect his heart to Takeshi’s by using his Gear just like he did to Wang Hu and Carlos. Meanwhile, Gomano and Momita are assuring Takeshi that Kouya won the last round by luck. Takeshi compliments them for doing well in the past few months and requests them both to return to the Tobita Club after the match is over. As he proceeds to the ring for the next round, Momita and Gomano thank him before the final round begins. The final round of the Crush Gear World Cup now commences. During the course of the battle, Kouya asks himself if he had ever understands Takeshi’s feelings. Kouya still would never understand how Takeshi really felt. About to refuse Lilika's advice, Yuhya's spirit speaks to Kouya to find Takeshi's feelings using the heart of the Gear. In a dreamlike sequence, Yuhya encourages him to connect to the other person’s heart with his Gear which can easily be found by feeling the emotions in Gaiki. Later, both Takeshi and Kouya are seen at the unfinished Crush Gear ring from the first episode. The former is asked about his ultimate goal to compete against Yuhya in the World Cup finals and assuming Kouya as his replacement. The two boys realize that no one will ever replace Yuhya, including themselves. Takeshi remembers how he agreed to train Kouya to become a Gear Fighter instead of the latter’s brother and aims to make him the World Cup champion. However, Kouya corrects him that Yuhya wants both of them to become better Gear Fighters than him in their own right. Hearing this, Takeshi thinks that although his goal (as stated by Kouya) is not fulfilled, he hopes to achieve it at the other time. As the scene returns to the present battle, Takeshi acknowledges Kouya as his true rival. Lilika remembers Yuhya’s words that the true power of Shining Sword Breaker will be revealed if one recognizes his true rival. Later in the battle, Both Kouya and Takeshi launch their ultimate attacks. At the same time, the true form of their attacks are revealed. A magnificent battle ensues, portraying the duel between Garuda Phoenix and Gaiki as a Phoenix Humanoid Warrior fighting against a Five-Headed Dragon, respectively. Before Garuda Phoenix strikes the final blow, the tip of the sword's blade was broken which makes its next move; it suddenly flies and spins like a boomerang (similar to Kouya's Tornado Release) and blinds the last dragon head. The warrior (Garuda Phoenix) then punches the dragon (Gaiki)'s face and resumes to the normal battle which leads to Gaiki throwing out of the ring, while Garuda Phoenix stays inside the ring running despite losing the sword/trident's tip and Kouya is declared as the World Cup Champion. While he is celebrating his victory, Takeshi picks up his Gear and walks away. Upon seeing him, Kouya calls Takeshi and jumps in mid-air, which he follows suit - thus ending the episode (and the anime series). Ending credits Unlike the rest of the episodes of Crush Gear Turbo, this episode has a longer ending sequence with the show's opening theme, "Crush Gear Fight!!" being played instead of "Ai da yo ne!! ~Gear wo Tsunagou~", which is the usual ending theme. The scenes that happen during the credits are as follows: * After the frozen footage of Kouya and Takeshi in mid-air, the scene cuts to a lot of people lining up to register for the Tobita Club. Kouya, wearing the tuxedo from episode 37, is embarassed until Gomano and Momita strike a pose next to him, which attracts people to take pictures of them. * The Manganji Group is holding a press conference of Takeshi being the world's first young boy to be sent to the outer space. The company also announces the latest space shuttle for the purpose - Gaiki - which, apparently, the name and the exterior design of the spacecraft is inspired from its Crush Gear counterpart. * The key members of the Tobita Club are busy with various activities: Kouya coaches Gear Fighting, Kyousuke is teaching the structure of a Crush Gear to a group of children (they seem to wear glasses as well), and Jirou bringing the other children running along a river. Kuroudo, on the other hand, is seen practicing kendo until his comrades come to visit him. * A registration form for Sunrise Cup and Garuda Phoenix is shown before Kouya takes the latter and turns around. The picture of Yuhya, Garuda Eagle and the badges for the World Cup and the Asia Cup is seen after he leaves. Trivia *The second time Garuda Phoenix suffers from losing battery power (although in this instance, Kouya won). The first one is in Episode 49. * The scenes during the final battle is a reference to Yamada no Orochi, a Japanese epic which features a legendary warrior fighting against an eight-headed serpent. It is also a reference to the Second Labour of Hercules in Roman Mythology, where the Son of Zeus fights the Lernaen Hydra. * The ending credits (as stated above) is absent in the English dub, instead it is replaced with the usual ending sequence. *The Garuda Eagle in the ending credits was actually given by Carlos to Kouya in Episode 65 and later used it against Harry Gamble. *Despite Garuda Phoenix losing the tip of it's blade, you can still see that Garuda Phoenix's weapon still remained intact during the final battle. Category:Episodes (Crush Gear Turbo)